Girlfriends, what would we do without them.
This last week I have been travelling with a group of friends to celebrate another’s significant birthday. It has all been so much fun and like a million others I do believe I left my heart in San Francisco. The one really significant revelation on this trip has been about girlfriends.
Girlfriends are a special bunch and as much as relationships with partners, children and work colleagues are equally significant nothing and I mean nothing is like the love shared between great girlfriends.
How is it they get you?
Time doesn’t matter. I live on the other side of the world from many of my girlfriends and don’t really keep in touch as much as I would like. It is never intentional neglect, far from it, day-to-day life has a habit of intruding.
And yet, the distance does not matter in any way. Nothing has changed in all the years we have known each other. We start off in exactly the same place we left off. The gaps in time are non-existent, explanations un-necessary and the chat simply flows in a way like no other.
Women understand each other and we face many of the same obstacles and hurdles together.
Bringing up children, re-inventing us to start new careers and striving for that path of balance and moderation that we aspire to. We encourage each other simply by listening and we support each other because we can visualise ourselves in the very same place.
How is it we can talk for hours about nothing much?
In the talking, whether resolutions are made or not, we feel better. We feel supported and comforted at the same time; knowing someone understands and is on the same page makes all the difference.
There are girlfriends and girlfriends.
There are those we meet and make friends with in an instant. They may be friends of a few years and yet the bonds are strong because we meet and click over common ground. There are “work” girlfriends and they are the ones who listen ad infinitum to subjects that others cannot possibly have the bandwidth for; it is natural that passions are not always shared.
Then there are the long-standing friendships, the girlfriends who have been along for the ride for decades. They know us inside and out; the good the bad and the ugly. These women support us unconditionally and are proud of our successes and not invested in our failures.
These women are the rocks, the foundations and the ones who give us strength and own a place in our hearts. They are to be cherished.
Girlfriends with a look, a smile and a knowing glance make our world a better place. xv
Best Girlfriends
taking time and spending time // in conversation // the truth
images from the women, director george cukor, 1939
